I just discovered by double-checking old letters of my great-grandpa, John Chaloner, that it looks like he joined the 2nd regiment after serving first in the North Dakota regiment then the 20th US Army regiment and finally the 2nd regiment.

My 3 questions are:
1.) Was he really in the 2nd regiment during the Philippine Insurrection ?
2.) What was his final rank ? My records show Sgt.
3.) It looks like he left the 2nd regiment either in 1903 or 1907/1908. can anyone verify ? I know the 2nd regiment went left the Philippines in 1903 and went back to the states then came back to the philippines in 1906 so I dont know if gramps went with them in 1903 and back to P.I. in 1906.
4.) Any other info about him would be most welcome.

By the way, he retired in Mindanao, Philippines and owned a large cattle ranch as he was a livery man before joining the army. He survived World was 2 hiding in the jungle with his Filipina wife and daughters while still fighting the Japanese even though he was 60 plus year old.

As he fought as a guerrila on Mindanao in WW II, have you done any research to see if he ever crossed paths with Wendell Fertig, the self proclaimed leader of the guerrila forces at that time?? A very interesting story.

I'm pretty sure he crossed paths with Wendell Fertig as my gramps lived like a native while raising cattle like other american retirees in the wild island of mindanao from 1908 till the 1950s.

The problem our family clan is having have is that my gramps was notoriously tight-lipped, and the older ones forgot or were not interested in the details of his record. they only remembered the general outline. I had to compile everything from scratch. I'll probably have to eventually shell out money to get the NARA archives to give me his records which is $25 for each unit he served under- I believe. I forgot to mention he was in the Military intelligence division, philippine islands which I believe was his last assignment.

While Fertig had a good reputation and in the early post-war years for his World War 2 accomplishments, he was severely criticized for inaccuracies in his memoir by other high ranking American guerilla officers. Overall though, I wish Hollywood will continue with that movie project about Fertig , if only, to publicize again the combat action in World War 2 Mindanao.

another trivia - Major General Harry Bandholtz, a 2nd regiment veteran was the chief of the Philippine Constabulary at one time, a unit with American officers initially then later mostly replaced with Filipino officers by the late 1930s. He even became Governor of a Filipino province(Tayabas) - LOL - his greatest strength was befriending and getting the trust of the local population.

By the way, The second regiment was also station in Jolo and Zamboanga in mindanao (home of the Juramentados - forerunner of the suicide bombers)

I wish I could give you the information you are seeking concerning your grandfather and when he served with the 2nd Infantry Regiment but I can’t.I do not have any rosters of Enlisted or NCO’s from that time period.From your postings you already had most of the following information but this is what I can tell you.The Regiment deployed to the Philippines the first time from September 1900 to May 1903 and again from March 1906 to March 1908.Units of the Regiment conducted operations and were located at; Duyay, Naro, Catbalogan, Bayacanai, San Cristobal, Buena Vista, Uson, Bampona, Manbug, Catubir River, Estella, San Narcisco, Lubang, Palaya, Boac, Balacbaquin, Mount Masalepet, Santa Cruz, San Bueno, Yba Barrio and Hingoso during its first deployment.Upon its arrival in the Philippines the second time it was located at Camp Stotenburg and then moved to Zamboanga and Jolo.

You are correct in that the NARA Archives should have the records on you grandfather’s military service. You say he retired to the Philippines, did he leave the Army and stay or did he return the states and then go back. If he left the Army there and his last unit was the 2nd Infantry then you should just ask for any records concerning his time with the 2nd Infantry Regiment

Your grandfather appears to have been a very interesting man and I for one would sure like to know more about him.Good luck with your search.

thanks for your replies... in Gramps obituary, it says he was discharged as Sgt, Company L of the 2nd ULSL Regiment.

Can anyone hazard a guess as to what "ULSL" means ??? the only thing I can think of is maybe the "LS" in the middle means "light Saber" , I dont know- just guessing or perhaps there was just a mixup in the letters....

Hi Larry, if there is something in particular you would like to know about him ,just let me know, I'll try to answer...

Noli Me Tangere was first used by the 2nd Infantry Regiment in 1792 and has remained the motto of the regiment ever since.This information can be found under the history button on this site.The Bolo on the patch is for the Philippine Insurrection.The description of the regiment’s distinctive unit crest can also be found on this site also under the history button.After clicking on the History button, click on the word Crest and/or the History, Lineage, Campaigns, Honors.

I really appreciate the help you give me and thanks to the other posters who helped and encouraged me. I have found a neat treasure trove of old books on the 2nd regiment as well as old stuff in general. In case you missed it, just go to:http://books.google.com/books

Search for Second infantry or second inf. or 2nd inf or 2nd infantry then append the place where your ancestor saw action and the probable year. Then on the left click "Preview Available" or "Free google books", and voila ! you can start reading !!!Enjoy !

There is one major important thing to remember when one is looking up 2nd Infantry or second Infantry. There has been numerous "2nd Infantry's" throughout the history of the Army. State regiments, volunteer regiments NG regiments and etc. There has been only one 2nd U S Infantry Regiment, note the US or in some instances "regular". This means that it is a regular infantry regiment in the United States Army. When one is on the web or looking for books and one wants only information on the 2nd U S Infantry Regiment that is what one has to watch for.

I have ever been fooled by some information I found until I dug deeper and found it was about a NG unit. It was a very nice photo taken in Washington state and had 2nd Infantry Regiment on it. But upon looking closer there was NG after the words 2nd Infantry.

Antonio, I have posted a photograph of Company L 2nd infantry from 1904 right after they returned from the Philippines. you might want to check it to see if your relative was pictured if you know what he looked like. It is on Ebay now but I will attach a pix here. 2nd6.bmp

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